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My Dm has moved away and my party now is missing a Dm so i (the sedondary DM) Need some advice on how to become a good DM. I know i need to practice but i want some good advice from somebody that knows what there talking about. So. Please help

Read the thread: DM Tips to other DMs! It contains lots of great tips.

Are there any personal things you'd like advice on, just to narrow it down?

practice practice practice, there is no other way. Reading tips from other DMS help too And most important of all, READ FANTASY NOVELS! You get ALOT of ideas from them, and learn to handle combat much better and make it more exciting. A wizard does not just merely cast a fireball, he waves his hands in arcane patterns chanting powerfull and unintelligible words while creating a glowing ball of pure energy in front of him, the wizard smiles wickedly and make a simple movement with his hand and sends the spell at its culmination at the players with such a blinding speed, that it explodes from its origin sending out a wave of heat before all but the most dexterious players are able to react, the searing flame burn the PCs with such a pain that Baator would indeed be a more welcome place to be than in the middle of this explosion.

Now this is a way more exciting way to describe a spellbattle than a simple (okay guys, this dude casts a fireball). And yes, I know, that was an INCREDIBLE long sentence But I felt that a . would be kinda anticlimatic

Try writing fantasy genre stuff. I mean anything. Whole books, paragraphs sentences, short stories, descriptions of characters, monsters etc.

It will help you to articulate what you are trying to tell your players.

Try writing a couple of adventures, or even just adventure modules or a short side-quest.

When you know what goes into making one then you have some idea of what the person was thinking when they wrote the larger commercially available ones.

Start by having your characters role play single days of general activities. Just going around robbing people or saving random people from random creatures (in sync with your PC's levels though).

Eg, on your way to the market you see a small building covered in arcane symbols. The large arch door is open and you can hear pots and pans being thrown around. When you move closer you hear a woman shouting and small sharp voices screaming in what could only be described as a very alien language.

(Character interaction)

As you step through the door you see a blond women in a torn red dress pressed up against the far back wall with a rolling pin in her hand.

Three goblins are moving accross the room toward her...

TAKE IT FROM THERE!!!

You could have it lead to something bigger or it could just be a chance for a quick hack'n'slash XP grab.

Did you like how your missing DM ran campaigns??? If so than STEAL STEAL STEAL!!!! You may not have know exactly what he had planned, but you know how he ran a game! If that how your players like to play then use it. If not, change what they didn't like.

Also, one of the hardest parts about being a DM is DMing on the fly. You've read on this forum (and probobly have done it yourself) where DMs get pissed 'cause character's "Messed up my champaign." First rule: No matter how much work you put into an adventure, it's not YOUR campaign, it's thier's!!!!

Give the players what they want, most of the time.

After playing with the same people for a couple of years, I kind of noticed a pattern in the enjoyment of each one of them. I know that all of them liked the challenge of combat, so I made sure to place at least a few challenging combats in every adventure and not make it 100% rp so as to bore them. They were also big fans of magical items and treasures...so whenever I think they deserved it, I'd give them magical treasures (even though it was totally unnecessary on my part).

Basically, I listened to what they wanted and there were always complaints along the way and suggestions after each adventure and I'd try to incorporate them into the next ones. Being DM is a bit like what I've learned of leadership in Business Administration, there are different types of leadership roles for different type of groups. Autocrats, democrats or those who just lets the group run for itself.

Then there is a theory which says with a group that is of low ability and low motivation (let's say they play just for the sake of playing, and are not very good at rp or rules), then you can adopt the role of speaker who orients them a lot to try to bring them to the next level upon where they gain motivation.

With a group of low ability and high motivation (sure, they really love coming to the sessions, but are not very good role-players or strategists in fights), then you can adopt the role of salesman and orientator, where you 'sell' the gaming fun to them and orient them through the adventures, allowing them to learn more from experience as the gaming sessions add up.

With a group of high ability and low motivation (say, experienced role-players, usually those who have played for a good number of years but lack that desire to continue playing) you can be the participant leader, who works with them but doesn't have to orient them (as they know the rules, how to role-play and all that). You just have to focus on motivating them.

And for a group of high ability and high motivation which is ultimately what you want (a group of experienced players who seek and know how to have fun in a session regardless of DM), then you can adopt the role of delegate or one who delegates (gives out) responsibilities, and you don't have to orient or support them. This is the group where if you say 'here's the map of the dragon lair where the elven child has been taken, now deal with it', they are capable of role-playing between themselves, come up with ideas, solutions for diverse problems and don't need the DM to take them down a straight line all the time. I think this is the group where you can LET them run the adventure...they are the narrators, and you're just there to give the basic storyline and say what the consequences of their actions are.

Heh, I'm not sure if I've linked the theory well with being a DM, but I still believe leadership skills that you'd apply for a business and being a DM is very much connected.

You'll usually want to avoid negative leadership which is where you punish individuals of the group for certain actions, and adopt positive leadership which is where you give benefits to the deserving individuals (applying this to RPG, maybe XP rewards for role-playing, that kind of thing...).

And most of all, and I can't stress this enough, is being able to read the minds of the group, learn what motivates them (so you can use it for your advantage)
and the rest is having fun yourself (as you're not paid to be a DM, don't exhaust yourself thinking 'where am I going wrong'?).
Usually when you have fun, the players have fun too.

To become a good dm you need to time and effort into your campain. To get good at it you need to get parctice. You could look around the web for example campains to get an idea of how to DM. Also the Dungen Master's book there is an fair example.